Healthy Snack Foods To Keep You Full

When hunger pangs strike in between meals, they can come on suddenly and persist, leaving little room for concentration on the task at hand. Whether it's 2 p.m. and you're at the office, trying to get some more papers shuffled around, or afterschool and you're at soccer practice, trying to warm up, or on a long, long road trip with nary a rest stop in sight, reaching for that bag of chips, cookies, or candy may seem awfully tempting. And once you've done the dirty deed, it seems like only minutes later, hunger strikes again.

But it doesn't have to be that way. With a little advance planning, you can eliminate the vending-machine mentality. That's why we've consulted a couple of experts on the best healthy snack alternatives that will hold you over until the next meal, instead of triggering cravings.

Meet Matt Terry, a certified personal trainer and former Olympic athlete with a list of letters after his name that would rival most doctors. Terry says, "The best snack foods really depend on someone's goals and current body composition. For example, if you are an endurance athlete who runs five miles a day, your snack choices will be far different from someone on a fat-loss program who leads a sedentary lifestyle." Ultimately, that means someone who is training for a marathon is probably going to be able to eat more foods higher up on the glycemic index without seeing the same negative impact as the couch potato. That's an important point, because admittedly, the aim of this article is indeed to help out the couch potatoes out there, or perhaps more generously, the active couch potatoes. (Yes, there is such a thing, apparently.)

But, let's back up a second. What is the glycemic index (GI)? In a sense, not all carbohydrates are created equal, and the GI helps tease out the differences. According to Terry, it's simply a measure that determines how quickly a carbohydrate will affect blood sugar levels. The scale runs from one to 100; a rating of 55 or below is considered a low GI for a food item, 56 to 69 is a "moderate" GI rating, and 70 or more is considered high. A higher rating indicates that the carbohydrates in the food item in question will increase blood sugar levels faster in a set period of time, and ultimately, means that it will be easier to store as fat.

Vegetables

Asparagus (EGL: 3), broccoli (EGL: 3), cabbage (EGL: 2), cauliflower (EGL: 2), and spinach (EGL: 0) are all great choices. Work these into salads or dip into hummus for a quick, easy, and low-GL snack.

Muesli

It's not just for breakfast. While muesli (EGL: 41) looks like it's off the charts at first glance, O'Neal suggests looking for a brand or mix that cuts out the raisins, which is where most of the sugar load comes from. Many muesli mixes are high in iron and fiber and can help you stay satiated longer than most typical cereals.

Pumpernickel Bread

Well, you don't absolutely have to choose pumpernickel bread every time, but it is a good example of what O'Neal is going for. Basically, any coarse, whole-grain bread will do, and the courser, the better. It's usually a sign of high fiber content. Try spreading some nut almond butter, sesame butter, or peanut butter on a slice for a quick and easy snack.

Nuts

Almonds (EGL: 0) are a great source of calcium and iron. Just make sure to consume these in moderation since they are fairly high in fat (although most of it is heart-healthy unsaturated fat) -- one ounce contains 15 grams of fat. O'Neal suggests working these into nonfat Greek yogurt for a delicious snack.

Beans, Peas and Lentils

Work these into salads, or mix some canned black or red kidney beans with corn to make a quick salsa that you can serve with whole-wheat pita chips. Legumes are full of fiber and can help keep that stomach from grumbling in the middle of a meeting.

Hummus

This seems to be very nearly everyone's favorite dip these days, and the fact that it made O'Neal's list is, at least in our view, an added bonus. Serve with whole-wheat pita bread, or simply dip some veggies or fruit into it. As with many foods, this one is probably better homemade.